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+--- Thread: Fun with saws and Scythe13's finger :-( (/showthread.php?tid=4280)
Fun with saws and Scythe13's finger :-( - Scythe13 - 24 February 2013
Hi everyone.
Okay, let me paint the scene for you.
Working nights, bored, alone, moving house tomorrow, plenty of wood going for scrap, a big ass wood saw laying near a builders tool box, one brilliant idea....learn to cut wood left handed!
Well....saws do jump, we all know that. Complacency sucks, we all know that, and now my finger hurts a lot and my hand is covered in blood. Damn fingers bleed more than I remember!
Anyway, to the story...that you've already guessed.
Started chopping wood and had almost finished (I was on the last block and final cut. Well, I was getting damn good at cutting left handed. Was very happy with my learning curve, and managed to get sawing very well. The rhythm was good, saw was smoothly cutting away, then....bump, hit a knot in the underside of the wood and then sawed deep into my middle knuckle on my right hand.
Not much fun!
There is a point to this.
I went over to the FAK and got myself a big bandage. Would have just got a plaster, but the blood was literally pouring out (thus the red hand mentioned earlier).
Am I okay? Of course. It's a beaut of a cut, right to the bone, but I'm fine. I'm so impressed with the saw's sharpness.....it's on my shopping list.
There is a moral to this story though, other than wear gloves when learning blade skills left handed, and that is.....I knew where the FAK was and I knew how to use it. Okay, that's not a moral, it's a moral in action.
Wherever you are, do you know where your nearest FAK is? Do you know how to clean a wound? Are you okay lifting flaps of skin up and cleaning under them? Are you able to hide the evidence so you won't get reported and lose your job haha?
It's a simple question and one I'm please to say, so far, I've been able to say yes to, are you able to self operate?
RE: Fun with saws and Scythe13's finger :-( - bigpaul - 24 February 2013
Typical, does not surprise me one bit
if its that bad-dont you need stitches?
RE: Fun with saws and Scythe13's finger :-( - Scythe13 - 24 February 2013
(24 February 2013, 10:30)bigpaul Wrote: Typical, does not surprise me one bit
Didn't bother with stitches. If it had kept bleeding, I would have gone to hospital to get some. I figure stitches are there to make the wound area smaller so that the blood can coagulate properly and seal the damaged area. If stopped bleeding after an hour, so I figured stitches would just be more hassle that I couldn't be doing with.
Did see a doc a few days later though. He was pretty cool, gave me a tetnus + others booster jab, and some antibiotics "Incase it starts to swell up with an infection" WAHOO!!!!
RE: Fun with saws and Scythe13's finger :-( - bigpaul - 24 February 2013
(24 February 2013, 10:44)Scythe13 Wrote: Did see a doc a few days later though. He was pretty cool, gave me a tetnus + others booster jab, and some antibiotics "Incase it starts to swell up with an infection" WAHOO!!!!this is just the sort of thing that will bugger you up post SHTF, just imagine their is NO doctor, NO booster jabs, NO antibiotics and the finger goes Septic!
RE: Fun with saws and Scythe13's finger :-( - Scythe13 - 24 February 2013
(24 February 2013, 10:51)bigpaul Wrote:(24 February 2013, 10:44)Scythe13 Wrote: Did see a doc a few days later though. He was pretty cool, gave me a tetnus + others booster jab, and some antibiotics "Incase it starts to swell up with an infection" WAHOO!!!!this is just the sort of thing that will bugger you up post SHTF, just imagine their is NO doctor, NO booster jabs, NO antibiotics and the finger goes Septic!
Exactly my thoughts. Which is why I'm posting this, to show the dangers of what's possible with a small mistake.
I'm fine, finger is all good, now I have some antibiotics! WOO!!!
Problem would have been huge if I hadn't cleaned it up and life was post SHTF!!! Likely it would get infected and I'd end up being subject to gangreen (or however it's spelt).
RE: Fun with saws and Scythe13's finger :-( - Geordie_Rob - 24 February 2013
You just reminded of the time I chopped my thumb in half with an electric table saw. Not good, not pretty, bleeds a lot & if it wasnt for modern medicine, I would've been screwed.
I want to back up what s13 says though, not paying 100% attention to what you're doing (even if you have done it thousands of times before) can have bad consequences. I've got a permanent reminder of that & now it seems, so has s13. Don't end up the same as us.
RE: Fun with saws and Scythe13's finger :-( - Prepper1 - 24 February 2013
All I can say is ha ha ha ha haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!
Clumsy tw**
RE: Fun with saws and Scythe13's finger :-( - bigpaul - 24 February 2013
yes, just imagine you have to have the finger chopped off, to prevent the gangreene spreading, and NO anaesthetic!!
RE: Fun with saws and Scythe13's finger :-( - Geordie_Rob - 24 February 2013
(24 February 2013, 11:39)bigpaul Wrote: yes, just imagine you have to have the finger chopped off, to prevent the gangreene spreading, and NO anaesthetic!!
1700's surgery all over again. Does anyone know the fatality rates from surgery back then? I bet it was a high %.
RE: Fun with saws and Scythe13's finger :-( - Skean Dhude - 24 February 2013
It's not the warning that medical care will be limited that is any good. We are all aware of that and we do what we can by stocking up what we can and learning what we can use for substitutes.
What we need to learn from this is to be careful and don't do stupid pointless things.
and I mean that in the best way possible Scythe. What was the point of sawing left handed when you are right handed? You may answer that after an event you could lose the use of your right arm. I suggest that if that is the case you won't be sawing wood at all although I'm sure we could cme up with a unlikely complicated scenario that means you are sawing wood left handed.Be sensible about what you do. Look after yourself and be careful with what you are doing.